Car-heater.



J. P. ELMER.

CAB HEATER.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. P. ELMEH.

GAR HEATER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. I3. |910. RENEWED MAY I8. |9|8 Patented Jan. 21,1919.

2 SHEETS-SMIL? D mu: nur: cu, nlmunm. urnmunn c UNITED STATES PATENT I OFFICE.

JAMES P. ELMER, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR 'IO MOORE PATENT CAR COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

CAR-HEATER.

Application led August To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES P. FmMnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in a combined heater and ventilator, and rerigerator, and 'for illustration, is shown as applied to railway cars intended to transport food, fruit or other perishable products, for which it is particularly applicable, although the same system and arrangement may be applied to a stationary structure for the same purpose. Either may be used separately, as each is intended to act as auxiliary to the other, dependent on whether the outside temperature be high or low.

The objects of this invention are to maintaina low and eventemperature throughout all parts of the interior 'of the car or structure, when the outside temperature is high, and a temperature above freezing throughout all parts of the interior of the car or structure, when the outside temperature is below freezing, and at the same time provide a complete circulation of the air in the interior of the car or structure. For this purpose (when under refrigeration), I have made communicating air passageways in the floor and walls, leading tothe top of the car, and by passing the air over the horizontal face of the ice in the bunker, the excess humidity in the airis condensed, and the foul air and objectionable gases removed before they are returned to the lading chamber. When the car or structure requires the heating apparatus on account of the low temperature outside, I provide and maintain a constant flow of pure warm air through the interior of the car or structure, by warming the inlowing pure air without vitiation, and at the same time extract the foul air and objectionablegases, using the heater force to expel them from the interior of the car or structure, and the construction and arrangement of the heating apparatus prevents any gas or smoke Jfrom the heater getting into the interior of the car or struc- Specieation of Letters Patent.

. Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

13, 1910, Serial No. 577,069. Renewed May 18, 1918. Serial No. 235,388.

ture when under heat. The air passageways in the floor and walls are utilized to return the circulating air in the interior of the car or structure to the heater-box, under the car or structure.

I secure these results by using a blue iiame oil heater having a long thin chimney terminating in a roof ventilator and inclosed for a considerable portion of its length in a fresh pure air supply pipe which opens into the chamber to be warmed and is adapted to pass pure air in contact with the heater chimney, and in the'direction opposite to the flow of air and gases within the chimney, for the purpose of securing a cumulative heating eect in the pure air.

I have chosen to show my device in connection with an insulated heater car itted for the conveyance of perishable commodities in cold weather and having an ice bunker adapted tobe used as a refrigerator carin hot weather.

'In the drawings with tratedmy invention and which form part of my specification, Figure lis a part sectional elevation of my combined heater and refrigerator car equipped with my improved heating device; Fig. 2 is a part sectional plan of the same car; Fig. 3 is a-'section on the line A-A, Fig. 2; Fig'. 4 is a section on the line B-B Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a section on the line C-C, Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a detail showing the ice bunker.

In the above drawings 2 is a provision chamber having an inclosing air passageway space 3 inclosed between walls 4 and 5 and having an insulating space 6 lying between the walls 5 and the exterior wall 'i' of the car. The air passageway space 3 is continuous with an air passageway space 8 between the double floors 9 andlO and is connected to the provision chamber 2 at the top of the wall 4 and through openings 11 immediately above the fioor 9. A ioor insulating space 12 is provided between the floor 10 and the bottom iioor 13 ofthe car.

Below the body of the car and near the center of its length is suspended the heater box 14 which is attached to the sills and which I have illusunder frame of the car. The heater box is fitted with double walls 15 and 16 (see Figs. 3 and 4) forming an insulating space 17 between them. The interior ofthe box is divided into two compartments 1S and 19 with lire proof linings, by a wall 20 and is provided with two doors 21 giving access to the two compartments from the outside of the car. In one of these compartment-s is an oil burner or other suitable source of heat 22 which has an oil supply pipe 23 drawing oil from the fuel tank 24 in the other compartment 19. The oil feed pipe 23 is fitted with a drain pipe 25 and a valve 26 adapted to drain the fuel tank 24.

The heater 22 draws air from the compartment 18 in which it is mounted and passes the heated air and gases into a drum or heater 27 occupying the top portion of the compartment. From this drum or heater, through the insulating space 12 in the bottom of the car, a flat chimney 28 exi tends below the floor toward the end of the car. From the insulating space 12 the chimney 28 extends upward at right angles in the air space 3 in the side wall of the car, terminating in a ventilator flue 29 (see Figs. l and 2) which penetrates the roof of the car and is surmounted by a ventilator.

The horizontal portion of the chimney 28 is enveloped by a warm air flue 30 beginning at the point where the chimney enters the side Wall and extending to the drum 27 where it forms a superimposed drum 31 formed by a partition 32. From the drum 3l there extends upward a hot air flue 33 lying in the side wall air space 3 and opening into the provision chamber 2 through the opening 34 (see Fig. 1) in the wall 4. The warm air flue 30 opens to the exterior of the oar by means of a passageway 35 through which it receives its air supply. The horizontal part of the chimney flue and its surrounding warm air flue are formed with a broad flat shape (see Figs. 4 and 5) adapted to conduct all of the cool fresh air in contact with the horizontal part of the chimney which radiates heat from the warmest part of the hot air current. Air entering the fresh air passage 35 comes into contact with the coolest point in the horizontal part of the chimney and gradually advances coming into contact with hotter and hotter portions of the-chimney till it reaches the drum 31 where it is directly above the flames of the heater, and whence it rises through the flue 33 into the provision chamber. This arrangement permits a maximum absorption of heat from the cooler parts of the chimney and the highest possible temperature of the warmed air through its final contact with the hottest part of the heater. The length of the chimney is so proportioned that the available heat of the smoke and gases is imparted to the fresh air during the time they are traversing the horizontal portion of the chimney.

The ventilation of the provision chamber is secured by the settling of the gradually cooled air through the openings 11 on top of the Hoor and fromthe wall spaces 3 into the floor spaces 8 and thence through the opening 36 into the heater compartment 18 containing the heater. The action of the stove in drawing the air from the provision chamber serves to assist the flow of warm air through the fresh air flues.

In the top of provision chamber 2, is provided an ice bunker 37 (of substantially the same construction, arrangement and purpose, as shown in my application o-f November 30, 1909, Serial No. 530,634). Both ends of this ice bunker at 38 are closed by wire cloth screens, which allow the ingress and egress of the air from the lading chamber. In the center of the bunker is the cold air port 39, opening down into the ladin chamber, for the purpose of allowing col air to pass through into the lading chamber. This construction permits the warmer air rising from the lading to the ceiling of the car, to pass into the ice bunker at each end, and return to the lading chamber after it has been cooled and made denser, through the central port 39. The drip pans 40, and the drains 41, are the same as shown in my application above referred to.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principles of operation of my invention together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof but I desire to have it understood that the construction shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set forth within the scope of the following claim.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is In a heater oar having a provision Chamber, enveloping air passage way spaces and an outer insulating wall, a heater box below said car having a heater compartment in communication with the lower portion of said provision chamber, a heater in said heater compartment, a heater drum arranged to be heated by said heater, a'chimney flue from said heater having a portion adjacent to said heater substantially horizontal and thence extending vertically to the outer air, whereby hot air and gases are adapted to :How from said heater along said flue and to radiate heat to the walls thereof during their iow, a fresh air flue enveloping the horizontal portion of said chimney Hue and having an inlet at one end communicating with the outside atmosphere and connected at the other end with said drum, and a hot air Hue extending vertically from said drum to the upper portion of said provision chamber, whereby fresh air is heated by contact with said chimney Hue while passing along horizontally toward said heater in an opposite direction to the How of gas and smoke in said chimney Hue, and Hows thence through said drum and up said hot air Hue into the upper portion of said provision chamber and cool air and gases are passed from said provision chamber through said heater and Chimney to the outer air.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this speciication, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

- JAMES P. ELMER.

Vitnesses:

GUsTAvUs LOEVINGER, F. G. BRADBURY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 'Washington, D. C. 

